A UK High Court judge has ordered Richard Desmond’s company, Northern & Shell, to pay over £40m ($53.7m) following its court case with the Gambling Commission.
According to local media, Northern & Shell and its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company, will be liable for 75% of punitive costs, which are expected to exceed £40m.
The case began when the Gambling Commission awarded Allwyn the Fourth Lottery Licence in 2022.
Through Northern & Shell, Desmond sought £1.3bn in damages for hypothetical losses.
He felt that the Commission had made “manifest errors” in the process and that he had not been fairly considered.
Desmond, who has run the Daily Express, Channel 5 and previously a portfolio of adult magazines, claimed the scoring should have been more transparent after the licence was awarded to Allwyn.
The Gambling Commission initially offered £10m to settle the deal, but Desmond refused and insisted on going to court.
The Gambling Commission revealed last October that this led internal costs to surge from £14.4m to £28.8m as the authority faced rising legal costs.
In February 2026, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) dismissed the joint legal challenge from The New Lottery Company, Northern & Shell and the Health Lottery – all companies linked to Desmond.
The Tribunal described the challenge as “hopeless.”
Then, in April 2026, the UK High Court rejected Desmond’s case against the Gambling Commission on all counts.
High Court Judge Joanna Smith outlined the rejection of “vague and unparticularised” claims made by Desmond, and noted “that, even at trial, the Claimants’ case has not been entirely consistent."
The judges in the case also highlighted that Desmond and his businesses failed more than half of the 23 requirements considered mandatory for the licence.
Northern & Shell launched the Health Lottery in October 2011
